


Things The Way You Left Them

by mylordshesacactus



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, no really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-16
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-25 00:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1622093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylordshesacactus/pseuds/mylordshesacactus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Arc of Infinity; Nyssa and Tegan get a proper reunion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things The Way You Left Them

“Just give me a moment to get this cleared up, at least you can have somewhere to sit. I tried to leave most of your things the way you left them, just in case…”

Tegan stood in the middle of the room, mildly bemused as an unusually flustered Nyssa darted about gathering up various stacks of notes and data tables.

“I  _am_  sorry everything’s such a mess, we’ve been so busy lately and I wasn’t expecting to have you back—I’m glad that you are!” Nyssa’s head whipped around in alarm. “I’ve missed you terribly, Tegan, it’s  _so_  good to have you back, it’s just a surprise. I haven’t had time to get anything ready.”

“That’s all right, Nyssa.” Tegan couldn’t help but grin; with the immediate threat from Omega gone and her back on the TARDIS, in her old room with Nyssa ( _the way it’s supposed to be,_  she thought) she was practically giddy just from her presence. “Let me help?”

“No,” Nyssa fussed, “No, you sit, let me… Oh—” Tegan wasn’t sure if the Trakenites actually had swear words, but if they did she knew exactly what Nyssa was thinking as the box of pipette tips she’d been attempting to balance on top of an armful of papers toppled to the ground, sending them bouncing in every possible direction.

Tegan raised an eyebrow.

Nyssa sighed and looked up with an affectionate smile. “Yes, all right. Thank you.”

Tegan laughed and slid off the bed to sit cross-legged on the floor, leaning over to feel tips out from under the bed. “So how’ve  _you_  been?” she asked, counting out the seven she’d found and sticking them into their slots. “We haven’t really got the chance to talk. You must’ve had all  _sorts_  of adventures.”

“A few.” Nyssa smiled, eyes flicking up to meet Tegan’s and quickly glancing away. “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of your own.”

“Nothing like traveling in the TARDIS,” Tegan said cheerfully, reaching out to pat the wall. “But sure, I had my share. Taste for adventure never really goes away, does it? I missed this, though.” For a few moments, they were silent as they sorted through bits of plastic that seemed determined to escape once more. Then, quietly, “I missed you.”

Nyssa took several long heartbeats—human heartbeats, at least—before she responded. “You left so suddenly,” she said, voice carefully even. “The Doctor said you must have wanted it that way. A clean break.” Her shoulders were tight, and she couldn’t quite keep the hardness out of her voice as she said, “It  _hurt_ , Tegan.”

“Now hold on a minute,” Tegan protested.

“I would have understood if that was what was best for you, but after everything to leave like that and not even leave a note—I had a  _right_  to know! I missed you, Tegan, I missed you so  _badly_  and I  _am_  happy to see you again, but I don’t know what you want from me anymore. After all this time trying to move on I feel I at least deserve an explanation.”

“Nyssa,” Tegan objected, “You left  _me!”_

Nyssa went very still, and Tegan wasn’t positive if she really saw a brief, glowing smile cross her face or if it was just wishful thinking, because when the Trakenite looked up again her face was carefully controlled.

“I see.” She methodically replaced several tips before looking up again. “I’m sorry, Tegan, that was very rude.”

“No„” Tegan said quickly, “It’s fine. You really thought I’d just  _leave_  like that? I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye!” She cocked her head, thinking. “Or grab my clothes, for that matter. I had to buy spare underthings at the airport!”

Nyssa blushed deeply, ducking her head. “I  _said_  we shouldn’t have left you like that but the Doctor seemed so insistent I thought you’d told him something I didn’t know. It was horrible.”

“Something I’d tell the Doctor and not you?  _Nyssa!_ ”

“I’m sorry, really,” she said miserably. “I  _knew_  something wasn’t right.”

Well, maybe it hadn’t been, but all of a sudden everything felt more right than it had in months.

“That’s all right,” Tegan said, almost surprised at the gentleness in her own voice. “You couldn’t have changed anything. We’re still… we’re still friends, aren’t we?”

“ _Always_ ,” said Nyssa, fierce and immediate. Doubt crept across her face. “You don’t have to stay here, you know; the TARDIS has plenty of rooms, if you want… space. I’ll understand. It’s been a long time for both of us. Or… I kept the beds together, it was more comfortable that way, but we can push them apart again if you like…”

“I’d like to leave them,” Tegan replied with a casualness she didn’t feel. “I really have missed you, you know.”

Nyssa smiled, a real, dazzling smile, and scooted around the tip box to lean against Tegan’s side, blushing faintly when the human put her arms around her with no hesitation. “I wanted to accept that you’d gone,” she said frankly. “But I missed you so  _horribly_ , Tegan… It’s not home here without you.”

“I know what you mean.” Tegan rested her head on Nyssa’s curls, holding her close and reveling in the  _rightness_  of it, how perfectly the two of them fit together. “I kept trying, you know? Never did really stop thinking about you. I mean, I wasn’t miserable all the time, it was a good life for me! Just didn’t feel quite right.”

"I was furious with the Doctor when he contacted you," Nyssa whispered. Her fingers gripped Tegan's collar. "I was so afraid. I thought you'd be killed. If anything had happened to you I could never have forgiven him, I really don't think I could have."

"He had to do it," Tegan pointed out. "Only way." She thought about it for a second, and then pulled Nyssa ever so slightly closer. "If it'd been you, though, I'd have panicked like you wouldn't believe."

"He said you would be all right, but the _risk_..."

Tegan kissed her head, holding her as close as she could. "Well," she said lightly. "Even a broken clock's right twice a day, huh? Doctor was bound to get something right eventually!"

Nyssa smiled and nuzzled into Tegan’s shoulder, fingers playing along her collarbone. “I wish I could say I’m sorry you lost your job,” she said with as close to a sly grin as Nyssa of Traken was capable of.

Tegan laughed, marveling at how easy and casual it felt; she wasn’t sure she’d laughed like that since leaving the TARDIS. “Don’t be, it’s my own fault really. And I don’t regret a thing about it!”

“What happened?” Nyssa had a laugh pulling at the edges of her lips already as she looked up, and absolutely none of Tegan’s memories had done justice to how truly, genuinely  _beautiful_  this girl was.

Tegan waved her hand carelessly. “Got grabbed at by one too many old fat men. I told him to get off me, he said he’d get me off, so I poured a bottle of wine over his head.”

“Oh,  _Tegan_ …” Nyssa shook her head in mock despair, but she couldn’t disguise the candid approval all over her face, or her slight smirk. “Well, you’re back now, that’s what matters.”

“Yeah.” Tegan smiled and kissed her. “Nobody pawing at me on the TARDIS.”

“Unless you want them to.” Nyssa looked far too innocent, even for… well, Nyssa. Tegan squeezed her, making her squeak.

“Unless I want them to.”

Nyssa hummed softly, pressing a quiet, unhurried kiss to her cheek.

There was an unearthly shriek as the TARDIS lurched, knocking Tegan’s head against the bedframe and toppling their recently-refilled box of pipette tips over the floor again.

“Bugger,” Tegan muttered, rubbing her head. Nyssa gave a rueful laugh as she struggled to her feet and pulled Tegan up.

“Welcome back.”


End file.
